The Slytherin Society
by Talamack
Summary: The Slytherin Society does not let just anybody join. Only a select few are chosen and even then they must prove themselves worthy. However, when you join you are hailed as one of the elite. And to be the elite is what Draco Malfoy want more than anythig
1. The Customer Is Always Right

**Hi.**

**So, this story was inspired by a comment my brother made about the Harry Potter books. He said that he thought Slytherins were meant to be... Well, Sly. Cunning and evil and smart. But in the books they mostly seem to be thugs and morons. I suggested that maybe there were some intelligent Slytherins,but they were just smart enough to keep a low profile.**

**Well, here's a little story about those Slytherins. Enjoy!**

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><p>Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, situated in the British countryside, far from any muggle town or village. Nestled deep within its ancient walls lies the memories of a thousand great witches and wizards who once patrolled its halls. From the first time a student levitates a feather, to when they turn human classmates into badgers, the school is with them all the way. From the first year to the last, and from the lows to the highs. And the entire story you are about to read, takes place in that very castle of in the surrounding grounds.<p>

One cool, September day, a Saturday to be exact, a great number of things were happening. Hannah Abbott had just opened her schoolbag to find a tarantula had been placed inside by a giggling classmate. The Gryffindor quidditch team was out practicing for their first upcoming match. Professor Flitwick was berating a student who had been caught hexing a classmate. Argus Filtch was on the prowl with his faithful cat, Mrs Norris at his heels. Hermione Granger was checking a book out of the library. Zachariah Smith was attempting to ask a girl out on a date.

And, in a small, dark room at the end of a corridor, in one secluded corner of the dungeons, a year six Ravenclaw was yelling at a Slytherin.

"What do you mean, you don't have any?" the Ravenclaw boy, known as Timothy to his friends, was screaming.

"I mean," replied the Slytherin with a small smile. "That we don't have any. We ran out yesterday and have yet to receive a new shipment."

"Run out? How can you have run out? It's only the third week of school!" Timothy shrieked, turning almost purple in the face. His hands balled into fists and he bared his teeth in fury. In front of him, the tall Slytherin boy leaned forward in his seat, rested his elbows on the desk and shook his head apologetically.

"I'm afraid people have been rather eager for powdered dragon claw this year," he informed the irate Ravenclaw. "It seems that Professor Snape is giving his year Six students a rather difficult test on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion making."

"Of course, he is," Timothy yelled. "Why do you think I need the stupid thing? I'm taking that test on Monday and I can't afford to fail!"

The Slytherin boy sighed and shook his head, making his bland hair fly about his face. "I am afraid that all I can offer you is this elixir of intellect. It might do the trick. And, aside from that, I can also recommend that you do some good old-fashioned studying."

Timothy let out a roar of fury and tipped the desk over. "I ought to report you!" he yelled, flecks of spittle flying out of his mouth with every word. "You and all your friends and your little business down here!"

"Do you think that's wise?" The Slytherin boy had not moved from his seat, but was dabbing at his face with a handkerchief. "You know that we keep a record of all our customers. You report us and all your purchases over the years will come to light. That might reflect badly on your permanent record."

Timothy stood in the middle of the room by the upended desk, breathing heavily. He and the Slytherin stared at each other for a full minute. Finally, the Ravenclaw let out a snarl, turned on his heal and pushed out of the door into the abandoned corridor and stalked away. The Slytherin boy watched him leave as the door swung close. Then he righted the desk with a sweep of his wand and eyed the smashed bottle of elixir on the floor.

"Such a waste," he tutted, making the elixir vanish with a flick, then repairing the bottle with another. "I don't like it when they smash our merchandise."

"Yes, well I don't like it when you scare away a customer." The girl who had spoken was sitting on a desk a few feet away and was angrily scribbling in a book. "That one's given us a lot of service over the years, it would be a shame to lose him now."

"Oh, Teodosia," the boy chuckled, getting to his feet. "He'll be back. There will always be another test, or another girl, or another quidditch match. He'll be in need of something, and he'll come back to buy it. We haven't lost a customer yet."

"But that's not for lack of trying on your part, Kaelen," Teodosia sniffed. She glanced up from under a sweep of black hair and frowned slightly. "Do you have any idea when that new shipment will get in?"

"Not a clue. Travis was meant to be contacting someone, not sure if he has."

"Hmm." Teodosia returned to the book, scribbling frantically. "Where is Travis, anyway?"

"On lookout duty, I think," Kaelen shrugged. He glanced towards the door.

As if on cue, the door opened and Travis, a short, dark-skinned boy with cropped black hair, walked into the room. He was closely followed by a tall girl with shoulder-length auburn hair, and a boy with brown hair and a pointed nose.

"Teodosia, Kaelen," the girl said as she entered. "How's business been?"

"Could've been better," Teodosia muttered, glaring darkly at Kaelen who shrugged.

"Nothing too bad," he said. "How're things on your end?"

"Fine," said the girl, whose name was Aislinn. She walked over to a desk in the centre of the room and sat down. Next to her, the brunette boy, who was called Marcus, took a seat and pulled several pieces of parchment from his pocket. The other three moved over to sit down. Marcus laid the pieces of parchment down on the table. Across them were written the names of students in third year Slytherin.

"Time to get a new member?" Kaelen asked, leaning forward to read the names.

"Yes," Marcus nodded. "We narrowed it down to these five. Obviously, we don't want any thugs, and we couldn't have one of the twins join or the other would get mad."

"So who have we got?" Teodosia asked.

"We have narrowed it down to: Bronwen Haythornewaite, Mizako Himura, Julian Beauchene, Blaise Zabini, and Draco Malfoy."

Marcus leaned forward and looked down at the parchment. "In three weeks time, we shall choose one of them to become our new member."

He looked up at the four faces looking at him and smiled. Sitting in that room were the greatest minds that Slytherin, and indeed the entire school had to offer. Any student would jump at a chance to become a member of their group, but they could not let anyone in. Oh no, not anyone.

Only the elite got into the Slytherin Society.


	2. Job Interview

**So this is Chapter Two. I hope you like it.**

**If you have any criticism or advice, please tell me in a review or a message. :)**

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><p>It was Sunday evening, about seven o'clock. Most people were having dinner in the Great hall, but down in the school dungeons a girl was wandering around, looking confused.<p>

She was a short girl with wide brown eyes and dark hair cut into a brutal bob around her chin. In her hands she was clutching a scrap of paper. Her name was Mizako Himura and that afternoon she had opened a library book to find the following message stuck between two pages.

_Mizako Himura_

_Classroom 3-B_

_19:15_

_Come alone_

So here she was, wandering around the dark corridors in search of the classroom. The layout of the Hogwarts dungeons was different to the other floors and she was having trouble finding her way. Every door she passed seemed to look the same and every hall was identical. She stopped for a moment to find her bearings, scratching her head. On her right was 2-D and on her left was... 7-R?

Mizako blinked up at the seven poking out from the grime and felt like her brain was snapping. She was lost in a dungeon and she was probably going to die down there of starvation. She wished she'd grabbed some food before coming down here. Her stomach rumbled grumpily as she stood, considering what to do. She dimly remembered a maze her parents had taken her to when she was a child. What did they do that time? She turned and started sprinting down the corridor. She took the first length that presented itself. Then the first left after that. Then the first left after that. Her head flicked from side to side as she looked at the numbers of the passing doors.

Finally, ten minutes later, she drew to a stop outside a classroom which had 3-B written in gold on the door. Mizako hunched over, gasping for breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her face was red hot. When she'd finally got her breath back she pushed into the room.

All the desks and chairs had gone, save for ten desks and chairs which were lined up in the centre of the room. Two rows of five desks with chairs facing inwards. Tentatively, Mizako looked around.

"Sit down," a cool voice said, making Mizako jump. There was a girl sitting at one desk facing the door who Mizako hadn't noticed. She was tall, with long black hair and dark eyes. She sat with a straight back and was regarding Mizako as though she were an interesting shrub in the garden. Mizako gulped, moved over to the table and sat down facing the girl.

The girl sorted through some pieces of parchment in front of her, and pulled one out.

"You're Mizako Himura?" she asked, not looking up. "And you arrived here five minutes ahead of schedule. Good. I will get the details of your search a bit later."

"Um," Mizako started, but the girl held up one hand.

"All of your questions will be answered later. It is annoying to repeat oneself. Besides, it would seem that the others are about to arrive."

Mizako glanced back, just as the door pushed open and another girl walked in. She was of average height, had shoulder length black hair, blue eyes, and ears which stuck out too far. Mizako recognised her as Bronwen Haythornwaite, a girl in her transfiguration class. She smiled nervously.

"Sit down," the tall girl said, pulling out another piece of paper. "Bronwen Haythornwaite you are just on time."

"Oh, am I?" Bronwen said, sitting down next to Mizako. "Good."

"Isn't it?" The girl wrote something on the parchment in front of her, glancing up every now and then. Just as Bronwen was beginning to feel uncomfortable, the door into the classroom was pushed open again.

"You see, Blaise? I told you it was down here."

"Yeah yeah. I was an idiot to doubt you."

Two boys walked into the room. One was tall with dark skin and high cheekbones, the other was shorter with blonde hair and pointed nose. They were talking, but stopped when they entered the room.

"Blaise Zabini," the girl said, taking two more pieces of parchment. "And Draco Malfoy. Five minutes late, arrived together." She raised one eyebrow, but didn't say anything else, instead scribbling more onto the parchment.

"Hello," Mizako said with a nod. Blaise nodded back, but Draco ignored her. He threw himself down into another chair and looked around the room.

Another few, silent minutes passed in which the girl scribbled on the parchment and the third years shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Eventually, the girl looked down at her watch.

"Julian Beauchene, over fifteen minutes late. Presumed lost. Struck from the meeting." She made several harsh scores across the page, then put her pen down and looked up. Four pairs of eyes looked back at her. Nobody said a word.

Then a voice said from behind them, "Now then, let's get started."

The five students all looked round to see a group of people materialise out of thin air. A blonde boy, a short boy with black hair, a brunette boy with a sharp nose and a tall girl suddenly appeared in the room. They all walked over and took a seat at the desk, with the brunette boy in the centre. He smiled encouragingly at the gathered people.

"First of all, congratulations," he said with a nod. "By finding your way here you passed the first part of your test. Now." He leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him. "I imagine you'd all like to know why you're here?"

There was a murmur of affirmation from around the table.

"Well then, can any of you tell me what you know of the Slytherin Society?"

Mizako blinked in recognition. Draco raised one eyebrow. Blaise nodded. Bronwen looked blank.

"Um..." Mizako said, tentatively raising her hand. "I thought... Well, I heard..."

"Yes?" the boy said, turning to look at her.

Mizako went slightly pink and looked down at the table. "I thought it was a black market shop. Down in the dungeons." She glanced back up, and the boy smiled.

"Yes, that is correct. But do any of you know anything else?" He looked at all four of them, challenging one of them to speak. When nobody did, he smiled.

"Good. None of you know any more than that. Good." He nodded to himself for a moment. Then, he got to his feet and walked round to stand in between the two rows of desks. He started pacing up and down between the rows, looking each of the third years in the eye as he passed them.

"The Slytherin Society does indeed run a small black market shop in these very dungeons," he informed them. "We provide the students here with potions to help them with exams, to help their love lives, to... help them in more sinister areas." He grinned slightly, but kept walking. "That is all that most people know of the Slytherin Society. But there is much more to it than that. So much more.

"The Slytherin Society goes back many years, almost to the founding of Hogwarts itself. We are a group of students, one from every year and two in Seventh year. What do we do? Well, you will find that out soon enough. But I can tell you that we are a far reaching organisation. We can control every aspect of this school, including the headmaster. Our connections spread out from this school to every corner of the globe." He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "If we wanted, we could control the Ministry of Magic. Not just in Britain, but in every country across the world." He turned to face the students in front of him. "You have been considered worthy to join our ranks. In three weeks time one of you will become a member of this society. That is why you are here."

He folded his arms and looked at the small third years. They all stared back at him.

"I have to tell you this," he said. "If you become our new member, the Society will have to take priority in your life. Absolute priority. You need to be prepared for that. Would you be willing to dedicate yourself completely to the Society? Would you put the needs of the Society above your own? Would you be able to die so that your fellow Society members can live? Because if you can't, then you're not what we're looking for."

He sighed and sat back on the desk. "It takes over every part of your life, and not everyone can handle that. However, what the Society brings you is so much more important. It brings you stability, a place where you truly belong. And it brings you power."

Draco Malfoy had been listening to this speech with rapt attention. At this last line, he felt his mouth creak upwards into a grin. Yes. This was what he wanted. This was where he belonged. He could feel it.


	3. Thank You, Come Again

**And here's the next one, I hope you like it.**

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><p>The third years sat in complete silence staring at the boy in front of them, each churning over in their minds what he had just said. The idea of ultimate power, of being able to control everything in the school and perhaps the world. It seemed too good to be true. Draco felt himself nodding at the thought of it. Beside him, Zabini had raised a hand to his face and was tapping a finger against his cheek, thinking. Looking down the row, Draco saw the two girls. Himura was staring intently at the seventh year in front of her, looking determined. Haythornwaite was frowning in thought, her hand clenched in her lap.<p>

"Well now," the boy said suddenly, making Draco jerk his head round. "The first thing I'll ask, do you all think you are willing to dedicate yourself entirely to this Society? If you do not, there is no shame in that. This is not for everyone."

Not one of the third years said a word. The boy smiled, then walked back to stand behind the row of people facing the third years.

"Introductions are in order," he told them. "I am Marcus Walton, the current leader of the Society. This is my second in command, Aislinn Kavanagh." The tall, auburn-haired girl nodded.

"This is Kaelan Sands, who will become the Society leader next year." A blonde boy grinned and raised a hand in acknowledgement.

"Teodosia Bianchi will succeed him." The dark haired girl was still writing on the parchment, but she gave a quick nod.

"Travis Ochoa will succeed her." The dark skinned boy at the end of the table smiled. Marcus turned to smile at the third years.

"And, of course, whichever one of you is chosen will succeed Travis."

He sat back at the desk. "Thus concludes our first meeting, you are dismissed. You may, or may not receive an invitation to a second meeting. There may not even be a second meeting, it might be that we can choose our member based solely on tonight." He glanced over at Teodosia's parchment and the writings scribble across it. "As you leave, please tell Teodosia how you found this classroom. And please, do not speak to anybody of what happened tonight. Do not even talk of it amongst yourselves. It is of the utmost importance that this remains a secret. Very well, then. We will see some of you again soon."

Marcus got to his feet and strode out of the classroom, closely followed by Aislinn and Travis. Teodosia looked up from her writing and sat expectantly, looking at the third years.

"Well?" she said after a moment of pause. The third years all blinked at her, making her sigh. She pointed a finger at Mizako Himura and snapped, "You! How did you get to this classroom?"

Mizako spluttered for a second, then choked out something about taking every left hand turn, until she reached the classroom. Teodosia raised an eyebrow, then scribbled on the parchment. Kaelan read over her shoulder, nodding in agreement with whatever she had written. He glanced up.

"Oh, you can go now," he told her with a grin, waving his hand dismissively. "And you, Haythornwaite. How did you manage to get here?"

Bronwen reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "I got my note this morning, so I came down at lunch to map out the dungeons," she said, placing the parchment on the desk in front of her. Kaelan hopped over his own desk to pick up the map. He glanced over it, then handed it to Teodosia. Bronwen craned her neck to try and see what Teodosia had written, but a small cough from Kaelan made her get to her feet and scurry out the door.

Kaelan turned to the two boys remaining. "And you two turned up together," he smiled.

"Despite being told to come alone," Teodosia said.

"We didn't plan to," Draco said, bristling. "We were walking around these dungeons and happened to run into each other. Since we were both looking for the same place, we ended up walking with each other."

Teodosia tapped her finger thoughtfully on the desk, then turned to Blaise. "Is this true?" Blaise nodded.

"Well then, that's all," Teodosia said, looking back at the parchment. "You can go."

Draco looked like he was about to say something, but Kaelan caught his eye and slowly shook his head. He pointed a finger to the door. Disliking the fact that he was being ordered about, Draco got to his feet and followed Blaise out of the classroom and into the winding dungeon corridors. If they hurried, they might be able to catch the tail-end of dinner.

Back in the classroom, Kaelan leaned over to see Teodosia's work. "So, what are your opinions so far?" he asked.

The girl smirked. "I'm never wrong about these things Kaelan, but I'm not going to tell you my opinions just yet." She gathered up her parchment and got to her feet. Kaelan waved his wand and sent the desks and chairs all back to their original positions throughout the classroom. He glanced at Teodosia.

"So, do you know? Who will be chosen?"

"I believe so," she nodded. "Of course, nothing is ever sure. I certainly know who Marcus will invite back."

Kaelan grinned as the two of them left the classroom and linked his arm through hers. "I do so enjoy the recruiting," he told her. "They're so trusting and innocent, it's sweet." He chuckled to himself, then glanced round at the girl beside him. "I was planning on taking a little trip up to the library. Would you care to join me?"

"No, I would not," Teodosia said, pulling her arm free. "I will see you at the next meeting, Kaelan. And remember to keep an eye on those third years."

. . .

One thing the Slytherin Society prides itself on is its ability to go unnoticed. As such, the prospective members had absolutely no idea that they were being spied on for the next few days.

When Mizako yelled at a first year who had spilt ink all over her homework, Travis was watching from the other side of the room. When Draco made a snide remark to Harry Potter outside a classroom, Teodosia was listening from behind a tapestry. When Bronwen walked into another student and caused them both to drop their books on the floor, Kaelan was sniggering from round the corner. When Blaise persuaded a girl in his charms class to let him copy her notes, Aislinn was drifting past. They were all paying very close attention, and they all handed a collection of notes to Marcus.

Marcus read through their comments, adding ones of his own when they came to him. Then, he wrote out three invitations to a second meeting.

Exactly five days after receiving the first note, Draco Malfoy opened his pencil case to find a scrap of parchment telling him to go to a hidden corridor on the third floor. Casually, so that nobody would notice, Draco crumpled up the note and through it into the crackling fire. Then, he got to his feet and walked out of the common room, to his second Slytherin Society meeting.


	4. Lesson One

**Went to see the last Harry Potter movie the other night, just LOVED it. I actually enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. And I must say, I was quite amused by the director's thinking in the last scene. 'We need to make these guys look middle aged. Let's just put them in patterned shirts and jackets, then make them grow some stubble. Yeah, that'll work.' Hee hee.**

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><p>Draco walked along the third floor corridor, glancing around to make sure he wasn't being followed. Apart from a group of first year Hufflepuffs he'd passed five minutes ago, he hadn't seen any other person. There had also been no sign of the Society members, prospective or otherwise. Draco paused for a second, wondering if he had been tricked. Then he reminded himself that the Society meeting had been top secret, nobody could have found out who wanted to trick him. With a grim resolution, he reached the end of the corridor and turned to his right.<p>

In front of him was a large tapestry depicting a dragon sleeping beneath an apple tree. Several children were sneaking around the beast and stealing apples. Draco looked at the scene for a moment, then glanced around. There was nobody in sight. Following the instructions that had been in the note, he pushed the tapestry aside and stepped through into the hidden corridor.

"Ah! Our fourth and final attendee. Right on time!" a voice called from the corridor. Draco looked up and saw a figure striding towards him. He recognised it as the sixth year, Kaelan Sands.

"Who else is here?" Draco asked, letting the tapestry fall back into place behind him. He glanced past Sands and saw two students, one tall and one short.

"We have our beautiful buddies Blaise and Bronwen," Kaelan announced with a smile. "Unfortunately, Mizako was deemed unsuitable for a return visit."

"Why?" Bronwen asked quietly, stepping up behind Kaelan. He looked at her.

"Why do you want to know?"

The girl went slightly pink under his gaze, and looked at her feet. "A foolish man does not learn from his mistakes," she said, sounding as if she was quoting something. "But only an idiot does not learn from the mistakes of others."

There was complete silence in the corridor. Then Kaelan gave a short, loud laugh and ruffled Bronwen's hair.

"I could not have put it better myself, and that's saying something," Kaelan said gleefully. "And I would love to tell you. But unfortunately..." He turned to look at all the third years. "Such information is reserved for full Society members. And I'm afraid you just don't cut it yet. However!" He strode down the corridor, motioning for the others to follow him. "That could all change very soon. I am going to be giving you a little lesson about something very important. Something which is integral to the way this Society works."

Kaelan reached a second tapestry which lead to another corridor and, just before he slipped through, he said, "Manipulation."

The third years stood in the corridor for a moment, then Draco strode out after Kaelan with the other two behind him. Kaelan was walking swiftly away from the tapestry through a busy corridor and talking as he went. The third years hurried to catch up with him.

"Power comes from connections," Kaelan was telling them. "If you know the right people, you can have anything you want. It's simply a matter of how much you know them. A simple hello every now and then won't work, you need to understand how they work. What makes them tick. Then you will know how to manipulate them. Then you will be able to get what you want. That is how it is all done." He stopped suddenly and whirled round, pointing a finger in Blaise's chest.

"You know about manipulating people, don't you Blaise?" he said with a grin.

Blaise narrowed his eyes slightly and took a step back. "What do you mean?"

The grin widened. "There is a Miss Forrest in your Charms class, isn't there?"

Blaise nodded.

"And is it not true that you frequently compliment her hair and smile at her? Then do you not copy her notes?"

Blaise looked to one side.

"Is it not true that Miss Forrest is one of the best at Charms in your class?"

Blaise nodded again.

Kaelan clapped him on the shoulder. "Blaise, you have been manipulating that poor girl to your own ends," he said, grinning widely. "And that is fantastic. I'm not going to lie, you're a handsome fellow, and you have been using that to your advantage. Which is good. It's exactly what we've been looking for. You're a natural." He took a step back. "However, you have to exercise caution. Flirting is a perfectly legitimate means of getting what you want, but in the long run this girl might realise you've been playing her. This may lead to her disliking you, even seeing you as a pig. Hey hey, I'm just stating facts, calm down. What I'm saying is, if you go over the top you'll probably end up losing a good thing. Whose notes will you copy if Miss Forrest hates you?"

He shrugged and started walking again, the third years right behind him. He didn't say anything for a while, then he stepped to the side of the corridor and stopped. The third years gathered round. Kalelan scratched his chin thoughtfully, looking over the third years' heads at something.

"Yes, manipulation is key," he said after a pause. "Get a smart person to give you the answer. Get a pretty person to go out with you. Get a political person to rewrite the law in your favour. The list is endless. But the question is, who do we choose to manipulate? For example..." He pointed a finger at a boy walking down the corridor. "That boy there, Percy Weasley. He and his entire family are muggle sympathisers, surely it would be unthinkable to be nice to him."

He glanced round to see heads nodding at his words. Then as Percy Weasley went by, he smiled.

"Afternoon Percy, how's it going?"

"Good afternoon, Kaelan. I'm fine. Yourself?"

"Oh, never better." Kaelan stood grinning as Percy walked to the end of the corridor and turned out of sight.

"It doesn't matter who a person his," He told the third years without looking at them. "Just the amount of power they have. I can use the headboy's bathroom, you know. Percy told me the password. Let me tell you, getting to use that bathroom is worth anything."

"You have to focus on the end goal," he told them with a smile. "Sometimes to get what you want you have to get your feet a bit dirty. If I have to mingle with muggles to get a job done, then I shall mingle with muggles. That's the way it goes."

He checked his watch and started off down the hall, but not without casting a small grin over his shoulder and saying, "Not that there's anything wrong with muggles."


	5. No Talking In Class

**And here's the next chapter. it picks up halfway through the lesson in the previous chapter. We also get to see some banter between the third years.**

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><p>"I'm sorry," Draco snapped, moving quickly to walk beside Kaelan. "Did you just say that there's nothing wrong with muggles?"<p>

"Yes, I do believe I did. Through this passageway here, chaps."

"But how can you say that?" Draco pressed. "Wizards are superior."

Kalean laughed, making Draco flush red with anger. "Wizards are superior in that they can use magic," he told them. "Muggles are superior in other areas.

Draco scoffed, but Kaelan held up a hand to silence him.

"Muggles have advanced their technological, mathematical, and logical skills. They're very good at riddles and equations, much better than your average wizard. I could give you and a muggle a mathematical puzzle, and I can guarantee you the muggle will be able to solve it before you. They have been able to get multiple people onto the moon, only a year after wizards first managed it. They have discovered a way of fixing peoples' eyes so that they no longer need glasses. It is a crude method, but it is effective. They have been able to kill millions of people, some of them wizards, using their guns and bombs. Then they have superior numbers. No, they cannot use magic, but they are not to be considered weak. Hmm... This classroom's empty."

Kaelan stopped outside a door, tapped it with his wand and stepped inside. The other's followed him. Kaelan indicated for them to sit down, then perched himself on one of the desks, beaming at the third years. Draco glared back.

"What do _you_ feel about muggles, Blaise?" Kaelan asked.

Blaise shrugged. "I hardly see their use," he said. "They are weaker than wizards and seem incapable of doing anything interesting."

Kaelan nodded, then turned to Bronwen. The girl was looking down at her feet, her cheeks slightly pink. Kaelan nudged her with his shoe.

"You have an opinion, don't you?" Kaelan said. "I'm sure you would have more to say on this subject than anyone else here." Draco and Blaise both turned to look at her, making her blush more. She hunched over and didn't speak. Kaelan laughed.

"Well then, I'll just let these two in on your secret," he said. Then, before Bronwen could say anything, he announced, "Our friend Bronwen was raised by muggles."

There was silence in the room.

Then, Draco spat out a disgusted, "What?" He turned to the short girl beside him. "You were raised by muggles? How awful."

"It's not awful," Bronwen snapped, flicking her head round to glare at the others. "The people who raised me were lovely and kind. No, they couldn't use magic, but neither could I when I was a child. I hate how people here seem to think that all muggles are to be hated, that muggle-borns are inferior. It's ridiculous. They aren't disgusting pigs as everyone here seems to think, they're normal."

Bronwen snapped her head back to face the wall, leaving a stoney silence behind her. Draco and Blaise exchanged wary looks. Kaelan grinned wider.

Blaise leaned forward to look at Bronwen. "So... Are you a mudblood?"

"No," she said stiffly, not looking round. "I'm an orphan. My mother was a witch, I found her name in the school records last year. I was just sent to a muggle orphanage."

"Why a muggle orphanage?" Blaise asked incredulously. "Why didn't you go to a wizarding orphanage?"

Bronwen shrugged, still not looking round. "You'd have to ask my mother that."

"She was probably a blood traitor," Draco sniffed, looking away. "Wanted her daughter to learn their filthy ways. Well, she seems to have succeeded." He laughed, then stopped when Bronwen looked at him. Her dark eyes were narrowed and her jaw was set.

"I don't like you," she said, glaring at him. Draco locked eyes with her and glared back. Blaise sighed and shook his head. His friend certainly had a way of annoying everyone around him. Still, he could understand the insults since Bronwen was a blood-traitor. Kaelan watched this gleefully for a moment, then got to his feet.

"Friendship is such a wonderful thing," he said, squeezing Draco's and Bronwen's shoulders. "But I'm afraid we must bring this meeting to an end. I have gobstones club in ten minutes."

He walked to the door and opened it, stopping to look back at them. "You may or may not receive an invitation to another meeting," he told them. "There's no way to know if you will get one. However, I am going to set you some homework that may help you." He glanced out the door to make sure the corridor was empty. "Your homework is to network. Get someone who can be useful to you and get on their good side. Show the society how well you influence people, how lovable you are. We'll keep an eye out for you. Well, that's that. See you next time, perhaps." With that, he had disappeared out the door.

Bronwen wasted no time, striding out of the room after him. She managed to cast a hateful look over her shoulder as she went though. Draco muttered something about 'filthy blood-traitors' under his breath, then he and Blaise exited the room.

Not one of them waited too long before starting their 'homework'. Blaise had set his sights on the head girl, a Ravenclaw girl named Wendy Lu. He soon realised that he couldn't use the same techniques he used with Delilah Forrest. This was partly due to Wendy having a boyfriend, but mostly due to the four year age difference between them. So he decided to try something a little different. It started with her asking where a certain book was in the library. Then he made sure that she saw him reading the book with a confused expression on his face. Finally, he dropped his schoolbag in front of her, spilling quills and parchment all over the floor. The end result was Wendy developing protective feelings for Blaise, not unlike those she might have for a brother. She was then only to happy to do small favours for him, such as helping with schoolwork and getting him the password for the prefects' bathroom.

As for Draco, he had gone after the person who, in his eyes, was the most important person in the school. The sixth year, Martin Van Peij, was a wizard of the purest blood in Europe. Though Draco did not like to admit, the Van Peij family was even older and purer than his own. He admired this ancestry and the fame which surrounded the sixth year, so set out to befriend him. His method was slower than Blaise as he did not go straight for Van Peij himself. Instead, he struck up a conversation with the younger brother of one of Van Peij's friends. When the two boys had had several conversations, he was able to introduce himself to Van Peij's friend. From there it was a short step to his target. Another benefit with this technique, Draco realised on reflection, was that he had made not just one but three connections.

Bronwen thought for a while, before hitting on the one person she knew the two boys would never consider. Luckily, she already had a bit of a headstart. Using the same technique as Draco, Bronwen first built up her friendship with a classmate. It helped that the two girls had similar interest and had had several pleasant conversations in the past. The two of them sat next to each other in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and talked merrily before and after lessons. Bronwen made sure not to mention that she was in Slytherin, she knew that other houses did not look kindly on her own, and she wanted to gain the other girl's trust without facing the stigma. Then, on the first Saturday after the society meeting, she saw her friend outside the Great Hall. When Bronwen walked over to say hi, she was introduced to some other people, including her intended target. So, it was with a warm smile that she shook hands with Harry Potter, a person who, in Bronwen's opinion, was more useful to her than anyone else in the school.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, little side note. You may read this and think 'but how can she hide what house she's in, her uniform will have green on it'. Well, that's very simple. I'm basing my fanfic on the book, not the movies. In other words, the uniform is just black robes, a black pointed hat, and a black cloak in winter. There may be a school crest, and some people may wear a house badge, but not necessarily. This way, it'll be quite easy for Bronwen not to mention she's in Slytherin.<strong>

**Righto, just thought I'd clear that up. :)**


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